Questions and Answers

Hello all.

I currently have a Business Class award booked thru Alaska on Emirates…EK226 (SFO-DXB) and a couple days later EK97 (DXB-FCO). I now have enough miles to upgrade to First Class, but the only availability I am seeing that works with my schedule for the DXB-FCO segment is EK99…which departs Dubai at 3:20 in the morning! And it’s on a 777, not an A380.

So my questions are…

– Should I re-book the trip in First Class, even though the flight out of Dubai leaves at crazy o’clock in the morning?

– If I do re-book to EK99, how feasible is it to arrive at DXB the night before and enjoy the benefits of the First Class Lounge for seven-ish hours?

From what I’ve learned poking around the internet, I think I can check-in and check my luggage up to 24 hours before departure…and it appears the lounge never closes…so I think I am good. And I don’t think I’d sleep any better in a hotel with a 3:20am departure…so I figure I might as well enjoy a late dinner, massage, wine/beer/champagne, etc. as opposed to paying to stay half-a-night in a hotel.

What do you think? Am I missing anything?

3 AM is actually a quite common time to depart in Dubai. If you are a morning person, this might be tough. But if staying up late isn’t a big issue, this schedule ensures that you will sleep for sure on your flight. Not sure if I would use an upgrade to first under these circumstances. Unfortunately you did not mention how much better the currently booked option is. My tendency is that a switch to EK99 in first is not worth it, as you will sleep anyway most of the time.